Convention '96.

Cyber Chant: Whole World Is Interacting

Companies Ready High Tech For Democrats, News Media

Ever since the country's first political convention, those not lucky enough to be on the inside could do little more than march on the outside to react to the proceedings.

In 1996, convention watchers for the first time will be able to talk back directly to convention participants--if the organizers of the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago want to listen.

Ameritech Corp. and AT&T Corp., the communications providers for the Aug. 26-29 convention, are proposing a range of unprecedented high-tech connections between voters and politicians that could transform this and future conventions into national town meetings.

The technology would let voters communicate directly with delegates on the United Center floor.

They could exchange electronic messages with convention organizers on the podium and behind the scenes or participate in delegation conferences in hotel meeting rooms through video conferencing.

It's a vision that Democratic Party officials are interested in pursuing, but they're not yet ready to make a commitment.

"We have not concluded anything other than wanting to have a high-tech convention," said Mark Bilsky, director of convention planning for the party.

Chicago '96, the official host committee and the party's partner in planning the convention, sounded more enthusiastic.

"There are incredible opportunities for two-way interaction that was never possible before," said Julie Thompson, spokeswoman for Chicago '96. "We want to make this cyber-Chicago."

The connection will begin in January when Chicago '96 launches a "hotlink" for convention news and messages on the City of Chicago's home page on the Internet. (The Internet address is http://www.ci.chi.il.us.)

Convention events, newsletters and volunteer opportunities will be posted, including an application form for new volunteers.

The party also is expected to have a home page for the convention.

The Internet will serve as a resource allowing the expected 35,000 convention visitors to look up Chicago activities, make restaurant reservations and read about the city.

But more than being an electronic guidebook and concierge service, the Internet connection will "allow constituents back in the home states to interact with the delegates on particular issues," said Brian Fitzgerald, Ameritech's chief convention planner.

AT&T, which provided computerized voting stations for delegates at the 1992 Democratic convention in New York, wants to upgrade them to include Internet access and electronic mail, said Stan Gorski, who is directing AT&T's effort for the 1996 convention.

Each state delegation will be equipped with a personal computer on the floor of the United Center, he said.

Another potential connection would bring classrooms and community groups into the convention process through video conferencing. For example, fiber-optic connections could let the public in on delegation meetings in hotels such as the Hyatt Regency Chicago, the convention headquarters hotel.

"The Hyatt has fiber into it, so you could use it for watching the delegation at work as they prepare for deciding platform issues," Fitzgerald said.

For convention visitors, particularly the 15,000 members of the media, AT&T and Ameritech are promising one-stop shopping for telecommunications services, meaning that customers will not have to call different companies for local service, long-distance service, internal wiring and telephones.

The companies expect to install some 8,000 telephone lines in and around the United Center and the downtown hotels to handle the convention communications traffic, including the stories that will be filed from the temporary media center that will be built adjacent to the hall.

The stories won't be sent only to the traditional newspapers, wire services and magazines. Convention officials report that various news organizations plan to send their reports out on computer on-line services and their own Internet home pages.

Ameritech and AT&T also expect unprecedented demand for video services and satellite uplinks as more and more local TV stations and cable outlets compete with the traditional broadcast networks.

But wire and cable are no longer enough. Expecting that most of the visitors will use wireless communications such as cell phones or beepers, cellular capacity around the United Center will be doubled. That compares with cellular penetration of 5 percent for the attendees at the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta and 30 percent in New York in 1992.